La Liga Results 2015 Week 17: Tracking Final Scores, Top Scorers for Matchday 17

The first La Liga fixtures of the new year were played on Saturday, as the Spanish top division awoke from hibernation with six great matches to kick off Matchday 17.

Defending champions Atletico Madrid took care of business, beating Levante, 3-1, while Sevilla overcame a strong effort of Celta Vigo to walk away with the three points.

Real Madrid's 22-match win streak came to an end against Valencia on Sunday, but Barcelona couldn't take advantage of their loss, dropping a result at Real Sociedad themselves. Here's the full schedule for Matchday 17:

The current La Liga standings:

The list of La Liga's top scorers:

Monday Recap

There was just a sole Spanish fixture left to play on Monday evening, and after all the drama at La Liga's summit this weekend, it was Cordoba's turn to spin attention toward the bottom.

Miroslav Dukic's side were successful in beating Granada, claiming a 2-0 win over their relegation rivals to leapfrog their opponents into 18th place, a result that could have a dramatic impact come season's end.

Fox Sports News confirmed the result, which saw Granada suffer their fifth defeat on the trot and slip closer to the bottom of La Liga:

Two first-half goals from Nabil Ghilas and Florin Andone were enough to seal Cordoba's second win in their last four games, the club's only victories of the 2014-15 campaign.

That recent upturn would suggest the Spanish strugglers are at least showing indication of improvement under Dukic, with the outfit hoping 2015 continues to bear more fruit.

Sunday Recap

Real Madrid's impressive win streak of 22 matches came to an end on Sunday, as Los Blancos suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valencia. The hosts came back from a one-goal deficit to bag a well-deserved win and jumped into the top four in the process.

The visitors took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo after 14 minutes, converting a penalty after Alvaro Negredo committed a handball in the box. BBC Sport's Andy West didn't want to hear any complaints about the decision:

Valencia refused to let the early setback kill their momentum and fought back, with Nicolas Otamendi in particular putting in an excellent performance.

A deflected shot from Antonio Barragan tied things up early in the second half, and after Gareth Bale failed to find Karim Benzema to restore Real's lead, it was Otamendi himself who put the final score on the board with a powerful header.

The Argentinian was rightly chosen as Squawka Football's Man of the Match, thanks to these impressive statistics:

He didn't deny that he and his teammates had to dig deep for the result, per Inside La Liga:

Barcelona could have taken over the top spot in the standings following that result but suffered a loss of their own, as David Moyes' Real Sociedad grabbed an early lead over the visitors and held on until the very end.

Jordi Alba gave the hosts the perfect start by putting the ball in his own net after just three minutes, and via OptaJose, the left-back is quickly developing a reputation for doing just that:

The Blaugrana started the match with Lionel Messi and Neymar on the bench, and it showed during the opening 45 minutes, as Sociedad easily kept pace with the Catalans.

Things hardly changed in the second half, and the Anoeta could smell the upset. The hosts weren't producing any danger, but holding the lead, they didn't have to. The Blaugrana were going absolutely nowhere, and Sport's Samuel Marsden noticed the defence looked just as awful as their attacking counterparts:

The Catalan pressure finally increased near the end of the match, but the Basques held firm, booking a famous win.

Rayo Vallecano and Eibar both booked 2-1 wins visiting Getafe and Espanyol, respectively, continuing their surprisingly strong campaigns in 2015.

Cordoba and Granada will battle in the final match of Week 17 on Monday.

Saturday Recap

Antoine Griezmann started the new year in spectacular fashion, scoring twice in Atletico Madrid's 3-1 win over Levante to pick up right where he left off in 2014.

As shared by Squawka Football, the France international has been nothing short of sensational in the last two matches:

Fernando Torres watched from the stands as the hosts dominated from start to finish, and Nabil El Zhar's goal just after the hour mark truly came as a shock. The Atleti were simply better than Levanta throughout the match, and when Diego Godin restored their two-goal advantage, the visitors didn't even attempt a late push to grab a point.

Both Griezmann and Godin saluted Torres by celebrating their goals with the "archer celebration," on a day where nearly everything went exactly as planned for the defending champions. Mario Mandzukic didn't have his greatest match, but with Griezmann in such incredible form, he didn't have to.

Manager Diego Simeone told reporters after the match he is happy with the development the French winger has gone through in the past few months, having joined the club from Real Sociedad in summer. Per Goal.com, he said:

Griezmann has been getting better and better for a while now.

Apart from the goals, which are very important for him and the team, what I like is his hard work for the team and when he works to recover the ball.

He can occupy other positions apart from the wing, which is where he has been playing. The games are not all the same and he can play all across the front, I have that at my disposal

I can see a more complete player than when he first arrived.

One area of his game that has truly improved is his aerial prowess, something he was not known for in the Basque Country. Both of his goals against Levante came off headers, and via The Continental Zone, he showed impressive elevation on his first:

AS' Nicholas Rigg can't see any way Griezmann will be dropped for fan-favourite Torres:

Nicolas Pareja scored the only goal in Sevilla's 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, ensuring the hosts stay right on the heels of Atletico in the race near the top of the standings. The hosts had their hands full with the Galicians, despite Carles Planas' early red card, forcing Vigo to play the bulk of the match with just 10 men.

As shared by LaLigaenDirecto, the former Barcelona B defender could hardly complain about the decision after a tackle like this:

Elche and Villarreal played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, with all goals scored in a crazy first half that saw the visitors take a two-goal lead. According to Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez, the result ends an impressive win streak for the Yellow Submarine:

Deportivo La Coruna beat Athletic Bilbao, 1-0, while Almeria shocked Malaga, walking out with a 2-1 win.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will start their 2015 campaigns on Sunday, taking on Valencia and Real Sociedad, respectively.